Safety hat



Jan. 11, 1944.

E. v. KARABIN SAFETY HAT Filed March 8, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l R m m v m ATTORNEK 11 19 E. v. KARABIN 339 080 SAFETY HAT Filed Mar'ch s, 1941 2 Shets-Sfieet 2 INVENTOR. EDWARD U. NHRHBIN ATTORNE K Patented Jan. 11, 1944 UNITED SAFETY HAT Edward V. Karabin, Wilkinsburg, Pa., assignor to Mine Safety Appliances Company, Pittsburgh,

Application March 8, 1941, Serial No. 382,360

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in a protective hat such as used by miners, construction workers, steel workers and those who are endangered by hazards of falling objects, and more particularly, to a construction of head covering operating as a winter lining which accommodates the detail of a general type of construction of protective hat and which is so arranged to directly engage the head of a wearer.

This improvement is concerned directly with a .i

specific design and construction of a protective hat which is commercially available and used, which is made of a shell portion of protective or rigid material having a cradle or shock absorbing means that normally directly engages the head and supports the shell in spaced relation therefrom and which includes a headband that is sup ported by and removable from the shell and for which it is the object of this invention to provide a construction of head covering or lining that can be disposed directly against the head of a wearer and which can accommodate, if desired, an integral portion that extends below the head band so as to give protection to the lower portions or" the face and neck of the wearer.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a head covering which is suitable as an all weather lining for protecting the wearer, which is simple in its construction, inexpensive, mountable to the structure of hat contemplated and without interfering with its operative elements or require any modification thereof and which by cooperation with elements of the hat is operative to retain the covering in position within the cradle or shock absorbing means of the hat.

Another object of this invention is to provide an all weather head covering, for a protective hat having a rigid crown portion with a shock absorbing means supported within, and an engageable means to support a headband, of a fabric material having an upper dome-like portion that fits inside of the shock absorbing means and directly engages the head of a wearer and having means cooperating with the engageable means for the headband and operative to retain the upper dome-like portion within the cradle and to support a lower portion without interfering with the fitting engagement of the headband with the wearer.

Further objects of this invention will become apparent from a preferred embodiment of my invention that describes the principle involved and is limited to a specific arrangement of construction of protective hat and which is illustrated in the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view take centrally of the embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the embodiment taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a top view of the head covering; and

Fig. 5 is a side view in elevation of the same covering and illustrates a headband in place within the lining.

The type of protective hat I of which this invention is an improvement contains a crown p01- tion made of some protective material such as a reinforced resinous or cellulose acetate material, a reinforced wood or paper fibrous material, sheet metal material, or a material suitable to withstand the shock or impact of a falling object for which protection is sought. The shell 2 contains a cradle or shock absorbing means 4 that is fastened or supported directly to the crown and in the construction of which this invention is an improvement, the cradle is made of metal or rigid fiber support elements 5 attached to a connector 5 that spaces a pair of these elements on each lateral side of the hat. The connector and support elements are attachd directly to the hat material by means of rivets 6a. At the upper extent of each of these support elements is a suitable slot through which a fabric strip 5a passes and is held. These strips are joined together on their other end by means of a suitable cord 5b that passes through a loop formed at each end. The upper crown portion formed by the strips of fabric material and cord directly engages the head of a wearer and it is arranged to be spaced from the inside surface of the crown portion and to support the crown 2a of the hat from the head when the hat is worn. Thus, any blows or impacts applied to the crown are dampened by means of the cradle 'or shock absorbing means in being transferred to the head of a wearer.

The lower extent of each of these rigid support elements carries one portion of a snap fastener I, Fig. 3, or other suitable engageable means for carrying or supporting a headband 8. These fasteners may be directly attached to the crown of the hat, but for obvious reasons the arrangement illustrated is more desirable. The headband in the embodiment illustrated has the other cooperative portion of the fastener I. In applying the headband to the cap, the portion of the fastener in the band is merely snapped or engaged with the portion carried by the rigid support elements of the cradle.

This construction of hat, as heretofore described, is one that has been made previously and does not constitute a part of this invention, except insofar as it is concerned with the development and adaptation of a winter or all weather protective fabric lining or head covering commonly referred to as a winter lining fitted to the head without requiring any alteration or change of the hat construction. The lining acts as an accessory to the hat and it is quite desirable that an article supplied be arranged so that it can be used or removed at will. The lining in as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is made of suitable fabric material to accomplish the purposes of comfort and protection. By this invention, the upper dome-like portion Illa is to fit inside of the cradle or shock absorbing means, Figs. 1 and 2, so that it may directly engage the head of a wearer and provide increased comfort.

l-leretofore, it has been necessary in certain types of lining assemblies that the lining had to be disposed between the cradle and the shell so as to not interfere with the engagement of the headband and cradle with the head in properly supporting the hat on to the head, or it is necessary to completely dismantle the cradle or shock absorbing means to insert or apply the lining or, in one instance, the lining when inserted interferes with the engagement of the headband with the head. The lining or covering of my invention may contain a lower portion Iilb to fit around the back of the neck and enclose or cover the ears and thus provide additional comfort, although this is not a requirement of the construction of the lining since it may be that a crown portion is all that is desired. A protective strip liic is attached to the edges of the material to prevent damage and wear.

By providing a crown fitting covering that directly engages the head and incorporates means within the material, which, in this instance, is a plurality of apertures ii positioned around the lining and of such size to accommodate the location of fasteners that hold the headband on to the shell, the lining can be fitted within the cradle and without interfering with the attachment for the headband. Each of the apertures or openings should be spaced about the covering in alignment with the fasteners"! and made large enough so that sufiicient clearance is provided about the location of the fasteners to not interfere with their ready engagement. The clearance does not interfere with the comfort of the lining. In the construction illustrated, it has a pair of fasteners on each side of the hat to properly attach and support the band and hat and accordingly, a like number of apertures in the fabric lining are to be supplied to accommodate the fasteners.

With this arrangement, the lower portion of the lining about the headband is made of a size so that the headband can fit within the lining as illustrated in Fig. 5 and the apertures of the lining free the engageaole portions l on the outside surface of the band to permit the engagement of the cooperating portions on the depending elements 5 while the band as a whole is enclosed by the lining. Edges of the lining defining the apertures are gripped between the headband and rigid support elements 5. However, the encircling of the fasteners retains the lining in position when the hat is not in use and, consequently, it is not indispensable that the material of the lining be held by actual grippingengagement-of the abutting surfaces of the band and support elements.

In applying the lining to the hat, the headband is first removed and the crown portion of the lining inserted into the shell and against the cradle and adjusted so that the openings are properly aligned with the fasteners or the lining is mounted onto the headband in proper relation and then the band is attached to the shell. If a lower ear portion lllb is provided on to the lining, it merely extends below the covering Mia and requires no change or modification in any 0: the parts of the hat or the construction of the covering. A strap or cord i2 passing through openings in the material is usually used to hold the ear coverings Nib tightly against the head because the material does not have sufficient rigidity to maintain itself in engagement.

In the manufacture of the lining incorporating the features of my invention, a dome shaped portion is provided and the necessary apertures formed. These may be protected by a suitable stitching against wear. With such a construction, the lining is simple in nature and inexpensive to manufacture, both of which are of considerable consequence in supplying a practical lining. Other apparent features of positioning the covering against the head of the wearer, inclusion of some means to retain the covering in position when not in use, accommodation of a lower covering about the ears Without modification of hat or crown portion of the lining, absence of interference with the engagement of headband with the wearer and the ease oi assembly of lining are of importance in valuing the improvement presented.

While my invention is not limited to the specific embodiment illustrated, it is limited to the general type of protective hat construction described as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A safety helmet comprising a rigid outer shell having a shock absorbing means positioned therein and supported out of direct contact with the head of the wearer, a headband remcvably attached to the outer shell at a plurality of points about the band and a removable helmet-like cap of fabric material having an upper dome-like portion arranged to fit inside of the shock absorbing means and directly completely cover the top of the head and extending below the attachment of the headband to the shell, the cap having a means cooperating with the means of attachment of the headband to permit the lower portion of the cap to pass between the headband and shock absorbing means and to be held in place by the support of the headband from the shell.

2. A safety helmet comprising a rigid outer shell having a shock absorbing means positioned within the crown portion of the hat and arranged to support the helmet out of direct contact with the head of the wearer, a headband positioned within the shell and removably attached to the shell at points spaced about the band and a removable helmet-like cap of fabric material having an upper dome-like portion to fit within the shock absorbing means and to directly engage the head of the wearer and having a portion extending below the attachment of the headband to the shell, the cap having spaced means positioned in relation to the points of attachment of the headband to permit a portion of the cap to be positioned between the headband and crown portion of the shell and operative to retain the cap in position within the shock absorbing means.

3. A safety helmet comprising a rigid outer shell, shock absorbing means attached to the crown portion of the shell and having depending means spaced about the shell at the points of attachment to the shell, the lower extent of each of the depending means having an engageable means attached thereto, a headband having engageable means cooperative with the means of the depending portions of the shock absorbing means, a helmet-like cap of fabric material positioned inside of the shock absorbing means to directly engage the head of a wearer and enclose the headband and having spaced apertures to render the engageable means of the headband free to engage the engageable means of the shock absorbing means.

4. A safety helmet including a rigid outer protective shell having a crown portion, a shock absorbing means supported from the crown portion and in spaced relation thereto to position the crown portion out of engagement with the head of the wearer, the shock absorbing means having a plurality of rigid support means spaced about and attached to the shell and each having depending portions, a headband positioned inside of the crown portion, snap fastening means carried by the depending portions of the shock absorbing means and the headband for supporting the headband in position and comprising a removable helmet-like head covering of fabric ma- 2 terial having an upper dome-like portion ar 

